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SOUTH KENTON RECORDER

Your Community Recorder newspaper serving Independence and Taylor Mill

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2012

75¢

STUDENTS CELEBRATE THE SEASON B1

BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS

Who cares? They do

Every year we salute local people who show us every day what its means to be a good neighbor. We call it “Neighbors Who Care,” and we want you to meet them.

JACK MIKULA

TORNADO RELIEF

Ft. Mitchell kid not too young to care By Libby Cunningham Lcunningham@nky.com

Kathleen Reddinger and Joe Nienaber of Granite World in Covington shared their workspace with mountains of donations collected to help those affected by tornadoes in Piner in March 2012. AMY SCALF/THE COMMUNITY RECORDER

Community works together for tornado relief

By Amy Scalf ascalf@nky.com

Neighbors aren’t only the people who live right next door. Four people died as a result of the heavy winds and the EF4 tornadoes that tore through south Kenton County on March 2. Nearly 90 homes were destroyed and 388 homes were damaged. In the tornadoes’ wake, residents of communities across Northern Kentucky and from throughout Greater Cincinnati came together to aid those affected by the disaster. Most of the helpers who rendered their time, talents and resources for tornado relief didn’t give their names or expect any attention. Some have refused recognition. These community neighbors are representative of others unnamed who offered support in the days and months since the tornadoes blew apart so many local lives. Within hours of the tragedy,

Bryan Brake deliveved donations to help people affected by the March tornadoes. AMY SCALF/THE COMMUNITY RECORDER

Suzette Reinhart and Lisa Raterman had put together a Facebook group, and donations began pouring in. Then, they needed to gather those donations, find a place to store them and get the most necessary

tools and supplies to Piner. Bryan Brake of Florence had a little time to spare, and he also has a Ford F150 pickup truck. He saw the calls for help online and put it in gear. “I just had time on my hands, which was when they needed stuff delivered. If I happened to be available, I just went and did it,” he said. “I’m kind of surprised to be nominated for something like this. There seemed to be a lot of people who did a lot more than me. I just did things when I had time to do them. It seemed like a little bit here and there, but not a whole lot overall.” He picked up donations from Covington and West Chester and delivered them to Piner Baptist Church, where items were being collected for distribution to those in need. When the church got overloaded, Brake put more in his truck and took it to Falmouth or other areas. See TORNADO, Page A2

A RECIPE TO SHARE

GIFTS FOR SENIORS

Rita shares recipes for Friendship Bread B3

Home Instead Senior Care headed the “Be a Santa to a Senior” campaign A3

FORT MITCHELL — He’s not even a teenager yet, but Jack Mikula knows how to be a good neighbor. Margaret Berwanger, his neighbor on Pleasant Ridge Avenue in Fort Mitchell, says she’s never met a 12-year-old like him, which is why she nominated him for Neighbors Who Care. “He’s just exceptional,” Berwanger said, adding he watches out for things that seem to be out of place at her home and takes care of lawns in the neighborhood. “We have a man here that does professional repairs on houses and he observed him cutting the grass on one of the other yards. And he said ‘I just have never seen

Jack Mikula, 12, helps out on Pleasant Ridge Avenue in Fort Mitchell. LIBBY CUNNINGHAM/THE COMMUNITY RECORDER

a kid work as hard as that boy,’” Berwanger said. He’s also checked on her after her electricity went out. See MIKULA, Page A2

JERRY MARSHALL

Jerry Marshall, right, helps Ted Feldmann, left, hold a display of World War II medals Marshall made sure Feldmann received. The men are neighbors in Erlanger and also good friends, which is why Marshall was nominated a neighbor who cares. LIBBY CUNNINGHAM/THE COMMUNITY RECORDER

Marshall more like brother than neighbor By Libby Cunningham Lcunningham@nky.com

ERLANGER — When Ted Feldmann was receiving cancer treatments in 2007 he knew he could count on his neighbor Jerry Marshall to get him to his appointments off Thomas More Parkway in Crestview Hills.

News .........................283-0404 Retail advertising .......513-768-8338 Classified advertising ........283-7290 Delivery .......................781-4421 See page A2 for additional information

“I thought I could do it by myself, so I drove my own car over there and it was awful,” said Feldmann, 86. He only did that once. From that point forward 69-year-old Marshall gave his neighbor a lift to treatment every weekday for See MARSHALL, Page A2